Electrical apparatus often include accessories which are provided on a plug-in circuit card and attached to the apparatus by inserting the card into a connector on a motherboard within the apparatus. For example, many computer designs have processor boards, memory boards, and the like which are connected to the computer by insertion into a connector on a motherboard. Connections between the card and motherboard are made by mating a connector on the card to a corresponding connector on the motherboard. As circuit complexity increases, the number and density of pins and sockets on the connectors increases. As the density increases, the accuracy with which the card must be positioned relative to the connector on the motherboard also increases. To provide this needed accuracy, various card guides are used in electrical and electronic systems. Card guides are typically positioned orthogonally relative to the connector on the motherboard. The circuit card slides in the card guide which provides the proper alignment during card insertion.
Electrical apparatus, such as computers for example, also conventionally include various light indicators to provide to a user a particular indication, e.g., that the computer or some aspect thereof is in an "on" condition. For example, to support On Line Replacement (OLR) of circuit cards, an indicator light lets the user know which card is ready to be removed. Indicators also indicate which slot is ready to receive a card to be added to the system. After the states of the card are stored and the card slot is powered down by the system, the indicator light changes color, or increases intensity, to indicate that the card be removed or added as required. It may occur, for certain design reasons, that the indicator light source is not aligned with an indicator window, or that the light source is not easily accessible or visible by the user. This may require opening or dismounting the apparatus, or using flash lights to see the light indicators in order to service the apparatus. Moreover access can be awkward and uncomfortable for the user. To resolve such problems, light pipes or conduits have been designed for transmitting the light from the light source to an indicator window formed in a computer housing. For example, one such design can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,244, entitled "Light-Transmitting Pipe," issued to James K. Levins, et al. on May 7, 1996, and assigned to Apple Computer, Inc.
To resolve both of the above-described problems in one system, separate devices have been used for light transmission and guidance of circuit boards. However, there are several problems associated with this solution. First, using two separate parts increases the overall weight of the system, and increases the internal crowding of the system. Moreover, such a separate solution often requires the overall volume of the system to be increased as well. These are real disadvantages in an era in which small size and light weight are increasingly important in the design of electronic systems. Second, using two parts instead of one directly increases the cost of the system with a higher manufacturing cost, and increased labor, procurement, storage and handling.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide the function of a card guide to support or align circuit boards in an electrical or electronic system. It is a further object of the invention to provide the function of a light conduit in order to transmit light from a light source to a viewing area. It is still a further object of the invention to combine both of the above functions in a unitary part.